Open Letter to the Peoples of Ukraine

FULLY AWARE OF our historic responsibility, driven by honest intentions and with a clear conscience, we are addressing the warring parties in Ukraine, the peoples of Ukraine and European leaders who have mostly been passive observers of the ongoing events. (ILLUSTRATION: Gabor Vona)

As Hungary’s second largest political party, Jobbik follows the tragic events with the utmost concern as they claim countless lives, leading to bloodshed and turning Eastern Ukraine, which has seen better days, into a country of sorrow and mourning. Living up to its responsibility as a political force, Jobbik shall be the first to tear down the wall of silence and talk directly and honestly to the impacted parties and all nations of Europe.

Here in Hungary, we are making every effort to prevent any further bloodshed and the escalation of war. We Hungarians wish to live in peace with all other nations in Europe. We do not have problems with these nations, only with their reckless, deceitful governments that drag our nations into pointless wars. None of these irresponsible governments will ever be able to make up for the lives of any Hungarian, Ruthenian, Polish, Russian or Ukrainian victim! The deceased represent our common loss, who are just as sorely missed by our nations as by their own families. In order to avoid any more sacrifice, we must not remain passive and must honestly speak out to the peoples of the world.

We ask the UN Assembly, the leaders of the world’s great powers and European nations to finally recognize the truth and stop ignoring the facts. Shooting journalists and cartoonists in Paris is not the only hideous crime. The death of innocent Palestinian and Jewish people in the conflicts instigated by the lack of an independent Palestinian State is not the only tragedy to condemn, and the massacre of Christians in Nigeria, Iraq or Syria is not the only aggravated act of violence. It is also a crime against humanity when the regular army of a state in Eastern Ukraine murders innocent civilians whose will and decision is ignored.

Besides being Charlies, we ask European citizens to be the people of Donieck and Luhansk, or just be simple truth-seeking, sympathetic people who know nothing of double standards. Besides marching in the streets of Paris to demonstrate against violence, they should also demonstrate universal human values, showing that they care for the lives of penniless and poverty-stricken Eastern Europeans deprived of all their rights in an unjust war as much as they care for the lives of rich Western European citizens.

Also, we ask them to join us in standing up for the sovereignty of all peoples and nations. We ask them to share our values and express that the decisions, rights and political opinions of all people are equally important and not hierarchically ranked.

We Hungarians, Ruthenians, Poles, Ukrainians and Russians must live in peace with each other and we cannot afford to shed each other’s blood upon the orders of executors funded, agitated and manipulated by external forces.

Neither Ukrainian nor Russian people are enemies for us, Hungarians. However, our nations and compatriots are currently forced, and may also be forced in the future, into a war that causes irreparable damage to all the three parties. The responsibility for our current losses does not lie with countries or nations, it exclusively lies with the political groups and governments who believe that their power gives them the right to play with the lives and fates of millions at will without having to take responsibility for their actions. We are convinced that the moment of truth and peace will come and all those responsible shall be held accountable for these atrocities.

We shall respectfully address the military and political leaders of the rebel forces fighting for their freedom.

We Hungarians can never be grateful and thankful enough for the freedom fighters for trying to save the lives of our Hungarian and Ruthenian brothers forcefully drafted into the Ukrainian army and for doing their best to help these brothers of ours to get home from the front. We thank them and we ask them to continue demonstrating their human grandeur and save Hungarians, Ruthenians as well as the other ethnic communities that have been oppressed by the governments of Ukraine for decades and are now used as cannon fodder, thus changing the ethnic proportions in certain areas of Ukraine.

We believe that this massacre will soon come to an end, and the Hungarian as well as the Ruthenian nation will be able to properly express its gratitude for the humane gestures made for their brethren.

Finally, let us address our Ukrainian neighbours in a voice of honest respect.

None will benefit from a government that grabbed power through a US-funded, bloody coup d’état and listens to no one but its owner and employer. None will benefit from a government that incites hatred among its own peoples, destroys and devastates everything in the interest of securing its own hold on power. None, including the Ukrainian people, will benefit from a government that uses war and forced military drafting to retain its power, flaunt its strength and intimidate its citizens. A government that has no consideration for its citizens or its nation’s economy, wealth and growth, destroying everything that people hold dear, can no longer stay in power.

A government that serves foreign interests and turns its citizens against each other clearly demonstrates that it is itself foreign and unworthy of leading its own people.

Any responsible Ukrainian government should be focusing on making and maintaining peace among its peoples, as well as on resisting the Western influence that was willing to incite a civil war in Ukraine for its own geopolitical purposes. Any responsible government would respect the human rights of all ethnic minorities, regardless whether they are Ukrainians, Russians, Hungarians, Ruthenians, Poles or Romanians. Such a government would understand and accept the democratic decisions of its people if they have a different vision for the future, especially after these tragic events.

Here in Hungary and all over Europe, Jobbik will do its best for peace in Ukraine, for the justice of the peoples living in Ukraine as well as for the respect of their human rights. No matter how little this promise might mean, it may yet be a milestone in clearing up the confusion among Europe’s nations because this letter was dictated by the truth. Jobbik will use all Hungarian and international forums to seek justice for the peoples forced into a war in the territories of Ukraine and to ensure that their rights be acknowledged.